Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris have earned the most nominations for the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards with six nods each.
Stapleton is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, along with Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Eric Church and Thomas Rhett. The "Starting Over" singer is also nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
Morris earns nominations for Female Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year. Morris' fellow Female Artist of the Year nominees are Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde and Miranda Lambert, who is the winningest ACM Artist in history. For the first time since 2005, Carrie Underwood was not nominated for Female Artist of the Year.
The 56th Annual ACM Awards are set for April 18 in Nashville, Tenn.
The nominees for the 2021 ACM Awards were announced Feb. 26 on CBS This Morning.
See the full list of nominees below.
2021 ACM Award Nominees
Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
The Cadillac 3
The Highwomen
Duo of the Year
Brooks and Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan and Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie and Tae
Female Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce
Male Artist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Single of the Year
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"I Hope," Gabby Barrett
"I Hope You're Happy Now," Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
"More Hearts Than Mine," Ingrid Andress
"The Bones," Maren Morris
New Male Artist of the Year
Jimmie Allen
Travis Denning
Hardy Music
Cody Johnson
Parker McCollum
New Female Artist of the Year
Ingrid Andress
Tenille Arts
Gabby Barrett
Mickey Guyton
Caylee Hammack
Album of the Year
Born Here Live Here Die Here, Luke Bryan
Mixtape Vol. 1, Kane Brown
Never Will, Ashley McBryde
Skeletons, Brothers Osborne
Starting Over, Chris Stapleton
Song of the Year
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"One Night Standards," Ashley McBryde
"Some People Do," Old Dominion
"Starting Over," Chris Stapleton
"The Bones," Maren Morris
Video of the Year
"Better Than We Found It," Maren Morris
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"Gone," Dierks Bentley
"Hallelujah," Carrie Underwood and John Legend
"Worldwide Beautiful," Kane Brown
Music Event of the Year
"Be a Light," Thomas Rhett feat. Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin and Keith Urban
"Does to Me," Luke Combs and Eric Church
"I Hope You're Happy Now," Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
"Nobody But You," Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
"One Beer," Hardy feat. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson
"One Too Many," Keith Urband and Pink
Songwriter of the Year
Ashley Gorley
Hardy
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne
Everything to Know About the 2021 ACM Awards
The 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be held in Nashville, Tenn. for the second year in a row. The program will be broadcast live from three Music City locations: the Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe on Sunday, April 18 starting at 7 p.m. CT.
"We're thrilled to return to Music City's most iconic venues as we come together on April 18th to celebrate the best in Country Music, back in our normal awards cycle," Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, said. "A huge thank you to the city of Nashville, Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Cafe for welcoming us back to Nashville, where we can look out for the safety of our artists while shining a spotlight on this vibrant city after a tough 2020."
The ACM Awards were also held in Nashville last year, marking the first time the award show was held in Music City. The 2020 awards show was postponed from April to September due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Read More: Eric Church Honors Johnny Cash's 'Ragged Old Flag' at 2020 ACM Awards
The Academy of Country music will follow safety guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACM Awards were held in Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Last year's ACM ceremony featured performances by Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Mickey Guyton and more. Both Carrie Underwood and Thomas Rhett were named Entertainer of the Year (in a tie) at last year's ceremony, while Maren Morris took home the award for Female Artist of the Year and Luke Combs won Male Artist of the Year.
